I Don't Need You
by badwolf687
Summary: When an argument leaves him alienated from his friends, Robbie begins to wonder what he really needs in his life. My first ever fanfic.


Inspired by the Sikowitz's strange misinterpretation of what a 'prom' was, the students of Hollywood Arts had decided to throw a bonfire party in the school parking lot. Invitations were sent, tyres and fuel were found, and a request for a number of trained coyotes was fervently rejected, both by school authorities, and by staff at the local zoo. The buzz surrounding the party had been palpable throughout the halls all week, and now that the night in question had finally arrived, the partygoers were not disappointed.

From his vantage point, Robbie could see everything around him. Sitting atop a stack of tyres which had as yet gone unused he watched his friends.

Andre was on the stage, as was his was his habit, providing the entertainment for the crowd. The music he played was upbeat and happy, and in the still night air it seemed to mingle, rather than compete, with the sounds of the partygoers, and the roar of the fire, which now stretched up into the night sky. Andre was smiling. Robbie knew only too well that despite his occasional attacks of nerves, Andre was truly at his happiest when he performed.

He looked around and spotted Beck and Jade, sitting quietly in a corner of their own. Beck had his arm around her shoulders, and her head was resting contentedly on his. They were smiling. No matter how many times they fought, no matter how many times she accused him of looking at other girls, no matter how many times he accused her of being possessive, Robbie knew that at the end of it all, they loved one another.

A quick scan of the dancing throng revealed Tori, radiant as usual, resplendent in the height of fashion, and dancing and singing along to every word of Andre's song. She was smiling. Tori may have been the one the world wanted to know about, the one who got the parts, who sang the big numbers and dated the cutest guys, but when it came down to it, she was at her happiest here, with her friends, simply enjoying her life.

With Tori was Cat. Cat, who, more so than anybody, was at her happiest simply when everybody else was. She may have been flighty, vapid, and quite possibly affected by an overuse of bright red hair-dye, but no-one could ever accuse her of being self-centred. When the world was happy, Cat was happy. She was smiling, perhaps the broadest of everybody.

Robbie wasn't smiling. This seemed to be the way that parties like these went for him. He would arrive, full of happiness and excitement, but inevitably he would end up being his own worst enemy, too shy to talk to anybody, too nervous to dance, and most of all, too afraid that Rex might hurt somebody.

'Robbiiiieeee!' squealed Cat, running over to him. 'What are you doing?' Her broad smile was infectious, and Robbie couldn't help but smile with her.

'Oh, you know, just sittin' and watchin',' he said nonchalantly, as if this was exactly how he had planned his evening.

'Well, I think you've done enough "sittin' and watchin'",' laughed Cat. 'Come dance with me!'

Robbie's heart skipped a beat. Dance with Cat? This was everything he had hoped for in the night, rolled up into one perfect moment. _Cat _was asking him to dance with her! However, just as he was about to jump off his perch, a voice cut in.

'No Rob! I told you, we gotta go hang with my Northridge girls!' said Rex in his crude urban patter.

'But I wanna go dance with Cat,' said Robbie meekly. Cat still stood looking at him, her trademark vacant smile lighting up her face.

'Rob you better than that bubble-head,' said Rex with a sneer.

'What's that supposed to mean,' said Cat, her smile gone. Robbie hated looking at her when she wasn't smiling. Her sadness made him sad.

'It means, carrot-top, that a bubble is full of air, just like your head! Hahaha!' said Rex cruelly.

'Rex!' exclaimed Robbie, looking between Rex and Cat. Cat stood still for a moment, then her lip quivered, and she ran off, hiding her eyes behind her hand. Robbie stood forlornly looking after her, knowing that trying to call out or follow her would be useless. When Cat started to cry like that, only those with a certain knack could stop her, and it was a knack that Robbie certainly didn't have. Rex continued to chortle happily to himself.

'Come on, now, Rob. Take me to my girls!' said Rex, pointing to the girls in question.

'I don't wanna,' said Robbie, and, ignoring Rex's protests ('They want me Rob! I gotta give my girls what they want), and sat back up on his stack of tyres, his frown back on his face.

Time passed, the party carried on, and still Robbie didn't move from his stack. He was just considering going home and curling up in bed when a blow to his makeshift seat sent him sprawling onto the ground. He spluttered, and turned to see his Tori, Andre, Beck, Jade, and Cat standing over him. Cat was still quietly crying into Tori's shoulder, who seemed to be torn between comforting her tiny friend and frowning at Robbie. Beck, Jade, and Andre were making no such efforts, and were scowling openly at him. It was Jade, apparently, who had kicked him from his seat, and she was the first to speak.

'What did you say to her?' she demanded, her fury evident. She may have shown disdain for Cat on occasion, but no one made the little red-head cry and got away with it.

'I- it wasn't me, I swear,' Robbie stammered, wilting under Jade's icy stare. 'Rex was the one who insulted her!'

'Rex!' said Jade to the puppet, staring daggers. 'Is that true.'

'Yeah that's right, haha. I burned her good!' said Rex, laughing.

'Why I oughta'… Arrr!' yelled Jade, before shaking her head and turning away.

'Guys, I'm sorry,' said Robbie, sorrow filling his voice. 'But, you know, sometimes Rex just goes a little overb-'

'Just forget about it!' yelled Beck suddenly, shocking Robbie into silence. Usually Beck was so even-headed, but obviously he had grown tired of Rex's taunts. 'The fact is, Robbie, we all know Rex is just an extension of you, and unless you can learn to control it, we don't want any more to do with you. Goodbye.' With that Beck, and the rest of Robbie's friends, turned on their heels and walked away, leaving Robbie, once again, alone with Rex.

'You see what you've done!' Robbie said, tears in his eyes. 'Because of you, I have no friends!'

'Ahh, forget them, Rob! As long as you got me, you don't need them. You don't need those scrunges!' said Rex.

Robbie snapped. He stood, quickly and walked quickly, past his friends, still huddles together, and over to the fire.

'Rob! What the heck are you doin', boy?' said Rex, his voice shaking slightly.

I'm getting rid of you!' yelled Robbie, and he held Rex out towards the flames.

Beck and the others looked over at him, startled at his outburst, but Robbie didn't care.

'What're you doin' Rob! Het me away from the fire!' yelled Rex, panicking. His head swivelled to face Robbie, and Robbie could see what almost looked like fear on the puppet's face. 'You can't kill me Rob! You need me!'

'I don't need you!' Robbie screamed, openly crying now. 'What I need are my friends back, and to be normal, and to not spend my life walking around afraid of what you might say to me!'

Rex paused for a minute, thinking. Robbie was sure if he could have narrowed his eyes.

'I'm a part of you. If you kill me, you have nothing.' Rex's voice had changed, the urban lingo gone, replaced by something that instead came from deep within Robbie himself.

'No,' said Robbie, quietly, so that the puppet was the only one that could hear him. 'Without you, I'm still me. Do you know what you are without me?'

Rex shook visibly as he answered. 'What.'

Robbie drew him in close, and whispered in his ear.

'Firewood.'

With that, Robbie hurled Rex, the puppet flying a graceful arc up, then down, landing right in the middle of the bonfire. Robbie stood and watched, his shoulders shaking, tears pouring down his face. He could almost swear he heard Rex scream.

The moment could have gone one forever, but it was broken when a small hand slipped itself into Robbie's, and he looked over to see Cat standing next to him, looking at him.

'I'm glad he's gone,' said Cat, smiling at Robbie.

Robbie thought for a moment. Did he share Cat's feelings? Was he really glad Rex was gone? They had been together so long; life would be strange without him. As he looked into Cat's eyes, though, the answer became obvious.

'So am I.'

Cat's small smile became a huge one, and she started to pull Robbie over to her friends. Their friends.

'Come on, we still have time for dancing,' she said excitedly.

'Ok,' Robbie replied, smiling, and followed her into the crowd.


End file.
